


a part of your world

by draconequus



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mermaids, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hamilton was a dick kind of, Happy Lesbians, past elams too but like yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-06 02:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8730868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draconequus/pseuds/draconequus
Summary: Wouldn't I love, love to explore that ocean down below?
  
  into the sea
  
  Wish I could be
  
  Part of that world





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writelikeitsgoingoutofstyle (twoandahalfslytherins)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoandahalfslytherins/gifts).



> the prompt I received was any sort of femslash, and I originally planned for it to be something cute and domestic but instead it turned into a whole mermaid au so,,,,,hope you like it!

Eliza still remembers the day that Alex left, fresh in her mind. He was apologetic as ever, wide, dark eyes full of sadness as he clutched her hands. The scales that crawled across his skin had been glistening, but softer then usual, dulled and nothing like the emerald green they’d been when they’d first met.

A sign of longing, a heart turned away.

She’d noticed him straying towards the shallows, face turned up to catch the rays of the sun, eyes searching beyond the film of water that kept them from the upper world. 

His gaze always followed a dark figure trudging along the soft sand, eyes dark as the night sky above, head smooth and shaven. He’d hum an aimless tune sometimes, making Alex draw ever nearer with want in every flick of his tail.

But even with all that, Eliza never thought that he’d  _ leave _ .

He went away for a day and returned, holding a small bottle with an unidentifiable liquid, guilt and excitement warring on his face.

Every word that passed his lips was like a stab to her heart, and she could feel her fins, once fluttering with energy, slow and drift lifelessly beside her tail.

He left with his words still ringing in her ears, thoughts jumbled and muddy, unable to process what was going on. He was leaving her. He was leaving her. He was leaving her and Philip because he’d met a handsome stranger who stole his heart away without a single spoken word.

But she couldn’t blame him.

They’d never even been a certain couple.

Ever since John had died, being together had been a struggle. Every soft spoken word had been coated with a bitter memory of being used in a better time, every giggle Philip made was just another shadow that followed his every thought.

She tried desperately to convince herself that this decision wasn’t really going to affect her, reminded herself of her own friendships, that nothing in her life would change.

But that was still a lie. 

She worried day and night about Alexander, up until she got Lafayette to come with her to the surface. With their eyes just barely peering over the surface of the water, she gasped as she saw Alexander walking along the beach, legs protruding from his upper body in a way that seemed comedic to her. 

He was walking hand in hand with the boy with dark eyes, a small smile on his normally pulled-tight lips.

She dove back down quickly, unable to identify the feeling in her chest, tugging and pulling, an ache that she couldn't push away.

Eliza looks back as her ta breaks the surface, and Alex's head turns, lips part and eyebrows furrow. She can just barely hear the figure beside him ask with concern “Are you okay Alexander?”

She doesn't stay for his answer, feels Lafayette tug sympathetically at her hand, but doesn’t look up.

* * *

 

The days seem to pass in a haze after that. She falls into a familiar routine of smiling, saying she’s fine, that Philip is being incredibly helpful. 

But at night, when she’s alone, the loneliness comes crashing back. The cold empty spaces beside her echoing the gap inside her heart. Every time she reaches out, calls Alex’s name absentmindedly, it’s as if her breath catches for a second, she doesn’t know if she remembers how to breathe, and her arms drop to her sides.

Angelica told her softly that her scales were dulling day by day from their soft baby blue, to a strange mix of grey. Her fins don’t float beside her if she doesn’t think about it, they droop and flop, unable to muster the energy. 

She’s taken to floating along the coral reef, watching the tiny fish swim in and out of their shelter, blissfully unaware of anything but their own lives, flitting between the coral and sparkling with the sun that reflects off their scales.

* * *

 

It’s one of these days when Eliza makes the snap bang decision to go to shore again, to see Alex for one last time. 

_ Even if I don’t _ , she reasons to herself,  _ I could always just sit atop those rocks. _

‘Those rocks’ were a cluster of large boulders, smooth and perfect for lying on. They soaked up the meager heat from the sun and Eliza sighed as she lifted herself onto them. She hadn’t been out of the water for so long, and it was a refreshing change.

Turning her head languidly to look over at the beach, her eyes narrow as she sees a figure running down the beach, dress fluttering around her legs and hair shadowing her face.

Her eyes widen as she runs straight into the water, not stopping as it gets higher and higher up her knees, her thighs. 

There’s a sudden drop in the level of the beach, and Eliza pushes herself quickly off the rock as the girl still shows no sign of stopping. Just as she drops below the surface, Eliza leaps forward, flicking her tail to shoot quickly through the water, just catching the girl under her armpits.

Her eyes are screwed shut, a bruise blooming across her face and collarbone, colouring her arms, and no doubt other parts of her body.

Eliza tugs her towards the surface and carefully deposits her back on the sand, hands fluttering around her face as she tries to check if she’s still breathing.

She’s starting to lose hope, when she sits forward suddenly, hacking coughs and deep breaths sucked in by desperate lungs.

Eliza wavers, unsure whether to leave, when she looks up, making eye contact. Her eyes are red, and there are tears building in them from the combination of salt, coughing and - something else.

Her lips are pulled tight and her lipstick is smudged from the water still dripping down her face. Her hair is plastered to her skull and drips onto the sand. She has to blink a few times because of the sea water dripping off her lashes. 

And then she looks down.

Her head jerks back as she sees Eliza's tail, the scales that travel along her arms, the gills fluttering at her neck. It’s to be expected of course, but she flushes, feels as if she’s being treated like an exhibit, something to stare and point at.

“Who are you? What are you?” Her voice is still rough from swallowing so much water, but she doesn’t seem to notice, fixated on her lack of legs.

“I’m Eliza.” She says, and hesitates. Recalls all the tales of mermaids being killed, her father looking at her very seriously and saying she should never  _ ever _ reveal herself to a human. But she makes a split second decision. “And I’m a mermaid. Who are you?”

She doesn’t seem to know how to respond and, honestly? Eliza can’t really blame her for that. She tries to imagine what it must be like to find out that something you never thought was real, actually was.

“I’m-I’m Maria. Maria Reynolds.” Her teeth are starting to chatter as the water cools and dries on her skin, the breeze blowing against her. 

She pulls her arms tighter around herself, and her dress provides no extra comfort, weighed down and soaked.

There’s silence, for a few seconds before Eliza clears her throat, her gaze landing on one of the bruises again and sympathy growing evermore in her chest. The silence is deafening, and Eliza shuffles around for a few moments before clearing her throat to talk. Just talk.

“I, um, I was sunbathing right before I saw you, you know. The rocks just there are absolutely wonderful, and it is such a beautiful day-” She begins to ramble, trying to fill up the silence, or to get Maria to speak up. Helplessness isn’t a feeling that she particularly likes, and she offers a smile every time their gazes meet, before Maria’s eyes skitter away again quickly, hands resting just so in the places in between her bruised and tender skin.

“Why did you save me.”

Her quiet voice cuts right between Eliza’s hurried sentences, and it makes her pull up short. She blinks, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean.” Her voice is more firm now. “Why. Did you save me?”

“Well-” She gives a nervous laugh, unsure of where this is going. “Well I couldn’t just sit here and let you-”

“Yes you could!” She whirls around, and her eyes are wide, her hair flying back from her face. Eliza’s breath catches. “You should have left me! You should have let me-” 

She sobs, and her whole face crumples, her body curves inwards, shoulders hunching over, almost as if she’s protecting herself from an unseen enemy.

Eliza can feel a lump growing in her throat as she watches her, unable to do anything, and hands uselessly at her sides.

“You’re a mermaid, why couldn’t you just-” Maria lets out a wet, broken laugh, “drag me down to the depths of the ocean.”

Eliza sucks in a breath through clenched teeth, shaking her head, and feeling droplets of water fly off of her hair. “No. No, that’s not at all what mermaids are like, you’re thinking of sirens.”

“Of course I am. I’m always getting everything wrong. I guess James was right about that” She ducks her head, and her voice is so sincere that Eliza doesn’t quite know what to say. There isn’t even a self-deprecating laugh to pair with it.

“No, no that’s not what I meant, please don’t say that-” She trails off when Maria looks up, and she realizes how close their faces have gotten.

Eiza’s eyes flicker down to her lips before pulling sharply back up to look at her face. Her eyes are wide, as if she can’t quite believe what’s happening. 

She thinks absently that she doesn’t even know this girl. Might not even see her again. But-it’s been  _ so long _ -

They fall into it, and Eliza doesn’t even care when their noses knock against each other, squishing against someone’s cheek. She’s just aware of the rough slide of lips over lips, every inhale carrying the smell of Maria with it,

When they come out of it, Eliza apologizes immediately, face flushing. “I’m so sorry, we were talking about you not-”

“It’s fine.” Maria smiles. Properly smiles, small and sincere. “It took my mind off James for a while.”

“”Well I-” Eliza hesitates, unsure of what to say. “I’m glad I could help.”

“I don’t know if I want to leave.” Maria confides, her voice growing quiet again. Eliza can’t help but look at her bruises, and she winces, nods, doesn’t meet her gaze.

“If you-” She stumbles over her words, “If you can’t go back-”

“Don't worry about it,” Her voice is firm as she stands, still shivering, dress still wet and dripping, “I'll work something out.”

Eliza chews her bottom lip as Maria stands to leave, making her way down the beach, before calling out, “Will I see you again?”

She half turns, and she can just see a smile curving her lips. “I’ll be staying in a motel, by the seaside. I’ll come visit you tomorrow.”

A warm bubble of happiness swelled in her stomach, and she grinned. She nodded, before diving into the water once more, feeling it soothe her suddenly noticeably dry skin. The calm that washed over her as she swam through the water was welcome, something that she hadn’t felt for a long time.

* * *

 

She half expected the next day to be awkward, but is pleasantly surprised when she sees maria sitting on her rock, knees pulled up to her chest. Her hair, now dry and falling in wavy curls over her shoulders is pushed back behind her ears, her eyes closed and face turned up to catch the warm rays of the sun.

Eliza bites her lip and flips backwards, spraying her with water lightly as she flicks her tail, laughing as she squeaks and covers her face.

“Hi again.” She can feel a grin on her face, pulling the same muscles that they had every day, but- different.

It was like she was meeting Alex all over again, like she had just fallen into John’s embrace, like-

No.

No it was different this time.

When she zones back in, Maria’s talking quietly about her day, how she’d slept, how the motel had been shady, but the breakfast they’d given was actually very good.

“What’s it like being a mermaid?” She asks, curious, eyes just peeking over her arms where they rest atop her legs. Eliza starts, having just been staring at her while she spoke. The way that her eyelashes dipped when she spoke, how her cheeks flushed when she got excited, the soft rolls of her stomach and how she’d hide her face behind her hair when she got embarassed. 

“Oh.” She stumbles for a moment, words escaping her grasp. She flushes when Maria giggles lightly, and tries to recover, leaning her elbows against the side of the rock, leaning her cheek on one hand. “Well. I can breathe underwater. And the life underwater is beautiful, there are fish that you humans have never seen before, and things so deep down that you’ll probably never find them.”

Maria’s eyes are huge and wondering as she talks, and Eliza feels the words scramble to get out of her throat faster, just to see that expression on her face forever.

“That sounds incredible,” She breathes, and leans forward, as if she can see everything that Eliza’s been talking about under the surface of the water, if she just looks hard enough. “And there are more of you?”

She nods, smiling at her excitement. “There’s me, Laf, Dolley, Theodosia, Herc, Thomas, even though he’s technically a witch-” She trails off, at the memory of Alex and John, two names she used to list with such vigour. There’s a pause and she looks up with a start when a hand lands lightly on her shoulder. Meeting Maria’s concerned gaze, she attempted at a smile, shaking her head. “Sorry. Sorry I drifted for a moment, um, there’s one more. Philip.” She feels the tug of her lips soften as she thinks about him, still bumping into things from swimming too fast, yet with an unending pool of optimism.

Maria, somehow sensing the topic was a tense one, redirected their conversation. “Well. Some pretty interesting things have been happening in my life.”

Eliza pulls herself out of the water to sit beside her, feeling the water drip trails down her back as she tilts her head, indicating interest.

“So.” Maria’s smile is more secretive and playful as she leans forward, as if sharing some secret. “There’s a person who lives in that house there,” she leans forward to point at a large house atop the cliffside, “And we hadn’t seen them in ages. So. We sent up a kid to check on them. Except, they _ never came back _ .” There’s an air of dramatic horror in her voice that makes Eliza squeal when she leans closer on the last 3 words.

“What happened to him?” She’s curious, eyes wide.

“No one knows! Everyone looked for him, but he was just gone! He was an orphan too, so no one really...well no one really cared.” 

They lapse into silence, Eliza thinking about who could have possibly taken him away.

“And  _ Aaron’s  _ been sleeping around again.” Her voice is hushed and gleeful, practically vibrating with intensity, “I mean, everyone always talks, but he’s with someone new now, and they’ve been together for longer than everyone else.”

Eliza raises her eyebrows, and feels a sinking suspicion begin to build in her chest.

“Who...who is it?”

“Well, apparently his name is Alex, and no one knows where he’s come from.” 

Eliza’s heart drops into her stomach. She’d known. She’d known almost as soon as Maria had started talking about a new stranger in their town, but she hadn’t wanted to believe. She thought that she’d made peace with this, with the fact that Alex had chosen not to stay with her.

“Oh.”

Maria’s expression changed into concern as she looked closer at Eliza, eyes narrowing. “Are you okay? Did I say something?”

“No. No it’s okay.” Eliza hunches in, and attempts to smile at Maria, but feels it fall flat. “I just remembered something, that’s all. Sorry. It shouldn’t bother me, honestly.” Her laugh feels dull, and dry, forced out of her throat.

She almost can’t handle it when Maria shakes her head, concern still in her eyes. “If talking about them makes you uncomfortable I won’t do it? I’m sorry, I didn’t realise-”

“It’s fine, honestly, it’s fine.” Eliza coughs, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat. She can’t look up just yet. 

She hears Maria shift beside her, and startles when she stands carefully. “I-” She clears her throat as well, and there’s just a hint of discomfort behind it. “I think I should go?” It curves up at the end like a question, rather than a statement, but she doesn’t wait for an answer, sliding down off the rock and walking stiffly away.

Eliza watches as she walks away, and feels as if her jaw is stuck, unable to move, unable to produce a sound until she’s too far away to try.

She isn’t as happy going home that day.

* * *

 

The next day, Eliza gets there first. She’s early, but can still feel worry build up in her stomach every second that ticks by with no sign of Maria walking down the beach. 

_ What if she doesn’t come. What if you drove her away. What if- _ Her brain shrieks at her, presenting every single scenario all at once, throwing them at her with so much proof they might as well be fact.

“Eliza!” She looks up, unbelievably grateful to hear her name. 

Maria waves at her, and breaks into a run. When she gets to the rock, she’s panting and flushed, but happy. Her grin wavers, and Eliza cringes at the probable reason why. Their discussion yesterday hadn’t exactly ended on a good note. 

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

They both stay silent for a couple of seconds, before Eliza speaks up.

“I’m so sorry about yesterday-”

“I’m not mad at you at all-”

They both cut themselves off, faltering and the sentences disappearing into thin air.

“You first.” Maria insists.

“No, no you first.”

Another beat of silence.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for whatever I said to upset you yesterday.” Maria fidgets, looking down at her hands. “I didn’t mean to make you upset-”

“I wasn’t. I wasn’t upset you don’t have to apologize.” Eliza jumps in quickly, putting a hand over both of her’s.

“If you’re sure?” Maria’s eyes search her’s and she nods firmly, sure of her decision. “Yes, absolutely.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Eliza desperately searches her brain for anything to say before blurting out. “I saw a catfish today.”

“A catfish?” Maria sounds delighted at the turn of conversation. “Well. Well I saw a cat on the way here.”

Eliza laughs, and feels like she can breathe properly again as the mood lifts. 

“Don’t laugh, it was a  _ wonderful _ cat.”

“I’m sure it was.” Eliza’s eyes are soft as she looks at Maria’s blushing cheeks, and she doesn’t quite feel in control of herself when she leans in to press a kiss on the soft skin of her cheek.

She giggles at the squeak that Maria makes, whirling her head around to stare at Eliza with wide, delighted eyes. It’s safe to say that the sunny day reflects her mood very well.

* * *

 

As she swims home, she gasps when a small figure barrels into her, arms wrapping around her waist and face pressing into her stomach.

“Mommy!” Philip grinned up at her, gap toothed smile and all. “You’re home! You’re home! I have something to show you!” 

She smiled softly down at him and slid their hands together, adopting a mock serious tone. “What do you need to show me Pip?”

His eyes are shining as he tugs at her hand all the way to his special spot, a small semicircle of rocks resting on a raised patch of sand.Laf is floating beside them, a grin on his face as he sees Eliza.

He starts beat boxing before she can ask for an explanation, and Philip grins at her as he begins to rap childishly.

“Mommy, mommy look! My name is Philip, I am a poet, I wrote this poem just to show it, and I, just turned nine, you can write rhymes but you can’t write mine!”

“Whoa!” She puts a hand on her chest, as if blown away. The content feeling in her chest grows as she watches him perform.

He grins up at her when he finally stumbles to a stop, eyes so bright stars were almost visible inside them.

“What’d you think, wasn’t that great? Laf had to help me for ages but I thought of all the lyrics myself.” He puffs out his chest, making Eliza laugh and ruffle his hair.

“I loved it, it was wonderful.” 

Lafayette pipes up, hands on his hips. “Your little boy has been working very hard to do this.” He puts a hand on her shoulder as he swims over. “I know it’s been hard for you but, I think that you are getting better, yes? I don’t know what it is, but I am glad for it.” 

She leans into it, grateful and suddenly overcome with all of the weariness from the last week.

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

And so she meets with Maria every other day, sitting atop the rock just, talking about anything that they think about. It’s easy, effortless, and everyday Eliza’s affection for her grows.

It starts like any other day, they meet, they start talking, except halfway through their conversation, Eliza hears a shout from the other end of the beach.

“Eliza? Eliza!” 

She stiffens at the familiar timbre of it, and refuses to let herself fall into it like she always did, pushes down the sudden loneliness that threatens to take over.

“I need to go.” She says, trying to push herself off the rock quick enough. However, Alex scrambles up beside them just as she makes to leave. 

The air surrounding them is suddenly tense as she turns to look at him, face carefully blank. “Hello Alexander.”

“Um.” For the first time since she'd met him, he’s speechless. 

“What do you want?” 

Maria, on the other side of her shifts, clearly uncomfortable. Eliza reaches behind herself to lay a comforting hand on top of hers, linking their fingers. Alex’s eyes flick down to stare at the joining of their hands before looking up again, wetting his lips nervously.

“I-I missed you.”

She feels a spark of hurt inside her, a feeling of unfairness rising in her throat, threatening to be a shout. 

“You. Missed me.” She tries not to sound incredulous, and falls subsequently on the side of a disbelieving drawl. ”From what I’d heard, you seemed to be getting along  _ just fine _ with Aaron.”

He winces, rubs the back of his head and avoids her gaze while replying. “It isn’t that…”

“Oh so you don’t miss me. You just miss being a mermaid.” She’s pushing all of her hurt into her words, and can see Alex flinching with every blow. Maria’s gasp behind her makes her turn her head.

“He was a mermaid?” She seems to cut herself off from asking more, but Eliza decides to answer anyway. Better to get it all out in the open, after all.

“Yes. Yes he was a mermaid and he was…” She laughs shortly, “Well I guess technically we were married.” 

Alex has given up all pretense of simply avoiding her gaze and is staring at the floor at this point, guilt pulling at his face.

“You were married?” 

“I mean we were as close as we could be.” Alex’s tone gains some bitterness here, and Eliza’s head whips around, her mouth opening to counteract whatever he might say.

“We were just compatible as mermaids.”

Eliza huffs, muttering her disagreements with that statement, but then catches sight of Maria’s face. She looks stricken as if she’s just realized something. Turning to Eliza, she grabs her arms, urgency in her voice. 

“Do I need to be a mermaid for you to properly love me? Or to live together? And see the coral reefs?” 

“No! No of course you don’t need to become a mermaid!” Eliza shakes her head, waving her arms. 

“I mean, it would make everything easier.” Every one of Alex’s sentences makes her mouth twist in distaste.

“I think it’s time you leave Alex.” Eliza says sharply, shuffling closer to Maria. “And if you could be so kind as to not contact me again.”

He wavers for a moment, and looks unsure, before sliding off the rock. “If you want to become a mermaid, the person to contact’s name is Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson”

Eliza shakes her head, and presses a kiss to the back of Maria’s hand. 

“You don’t need to go see Thomas. Trust me. He won’t help you, or he will for a high price.”

She still seems unsure, but nods. Eliza feels a ball of worry start to grow in her stomach, but pushes it away. Piles other things on top of it and just tries to ignore it.

“So how was your day.”

* * *

 

Thomas is a sea witch. Well, sea witch is a strong word, he prefers to say that he just...experiments with the more magical side of life. Unidentifiable potions rest atop shelves, the glass bottles warped into different shapes and just barely staying upright. The lighting of the cave is dim and cool, and coloured light flashes across the walls every time a potion bottle springs to life.

He hums as he trails his fingers across the cold surface of the bottles, plucking two out of the line up. As he swims towards his ‘mixing station’ with a flick of his tail. The last time that he’d made a serious potion for a customer had been…

Alex. Yes, that was right, Alex who was unsatisfied with his life and had swum up to him with hearts in his eyes, except that they weren’t for Eliza. He had said he was in love with a human, couldn’t bear to be parted by just the word of the land and the sea. So he gave him a potion to take, that would make him properly human. No little tricks, or anything, not from Thomas. 

He prided himself on solid deals, with all the terms laid out. He would provide a potion, in exchange for something that the other person treasured. 

Alex had given him his words. Not his voice, nothing like that. But his words. Everything that would bounce around his brain, every thought that would only be sated from being written down, everything that allowed him to rattle on for hours on end, waxing poetic with almost effortless charm.

It was precious to him, and so it was precious to Thomas, bottled up inside a slender glass bottle, silver and green if you tilted it this way and that, flashing different colours if you just looked hard enough.

He heard someone swim through the room behind him and turned his head, opening his mouth to speak.

“I told you that I was making something today-”

“Well this is the entrance to the house isn’t it, I can’t just lurk around outside.” James replies, all deadpan humour, “It’s your own fault for making a cave the entrance, everyone’s going to think that you’re uncultured. That  _ we’re _ uncultured.”

Thomas sighs, raking a hand through his hair in mock anger, but really a smile building on his lips. “Why did I seduce you and bring you down here again?”

“Because I asked you to, that town was  _ boring _ . And you didn’t  _ seduce me _ .”

Thomas huffs, waving his hand. “Details, details. All they know is that you disappeared, it would be more romantic if you got swept away by a siren.”

James rolls his eyes, but there’s a fond expression on his face. “You couldn’t be a siren if you tried.”

“Oh yeah-” He falters when he feels a familiar tug from somewhere inside him. Longing, want, desperation, desperate for  _ anything- _

A new customer.

“I have to go.” He says shortly, and James nods, quieting. He eyes him, feeling something, some kind of intuition pull at his brain. “You should come with me.” He blurts it out, and is just as surprised as James is. 

“What?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I just think that...I just feel like you should come with me.”

“Okay?” He’s hesitant, and Thomas swims forward, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

“Come on, trust me.”

* * *

 

It’s odd, Thomas muses, that he knows exactly where to go. This time, the pull came from the shore, and as they get closer, he spots a figure sitting on the rock. Turmoil circles around her, dark and swirling, clouding her thoughts. 

“I’m going to shift, James.” He looks sideways at him to make sure he understands. “Wait a second, until I motion for you okay? We don’t want to spook her.”

He nods, understanding.

Thomas breathes for a second before tapping into the energy inside of him, concentrated all into one spot. It surges out as soon as he coaxes at it, and he gasps, a smirk curving his lips at the rush that fills his veins.

He feels the gills on his neck flatten and disappear, can feel his lower body shift and split into legs. His very being changes, and as he breaks through the water, he takes a breath, lungs filling with fresh air.

Stepping up, he closes his eyes. The water rushes off him, and he shakes his head and flicks his fingers, clothes fluttering around him like they’d never not existed.

The girl hasn’t noticed him, entirely by his doing, of course. With another flick of his hand, he releases the shield of invisibility that had coated him.

“Maria Reynolds?” Her name slips off his tongue, and as she turns, surprised, he feels a self satisfied smile slip over his face. “I’m Thomas Jefferson. Did you want some help?”

“No. No I’m fine.” She turns her head away, and he steps forward, concern leaking into his tone.

“I can help you, I promise. I know Eliza.” 

She starts at the name, and narrows her eyes. “Who are you?”

“Like I said. Thomas Jefferson, resident sea witch, although-” He taps his chin, “I think that sea witch is a bit strong, I really just dabble in magic-”

“What do you want?” She cuts through him, and she’s suspicious now, he can see it gathering around her, and he puts up his hands placatingly. 

“I want to help you. Trust me. I know you’ve been hanging around with Eliza, and you’ve made her better.” He rushes the last part when she tenses. This would be harder then he thought. “And...I know that you think being a mermaid is the only way you’ll be together properly.”

It’s a revelation even as he says it, and he feels growing sympathy for this girl, who is so clearly unsure of everything she does, everything she  _ is _ .

“I don’t-how do you know that?” There’s vulnerability in her voice, and she curls into herself.

“Magic.” He says, before continuing on. “I can help you though.”

She looks at him disbelievingly, and suddenly everything clicks into place. 

Turning, he calls into the water. “James. James, come up, will you?”

As he surfaces, Thomas gestures towards him. “This is James-”

“You!” Maria sits up straighter, recognition flashing in her eyes. “You’re the boy that disappeared!”

James’ eyes flickered to meet Thomas’, worry just barely visible in his eyes. “Yes?” The end of the word curves up, making it into a question. 

“That means you must be-” She turns to Thomas with new understanding in her gaze. “You’re the person that lured him away.”

“Well I wouldn’t say  _ that _ .” He mutters, and makes eye contact with James, who’s just beginning to pull himself out of the water. “You wanted to leave anyway.”

Maria’s silence makes him turn and look at her curiously, and as his gaze follows hers, he sees her staring at James’ tail. 

“You’re a mermaid. But-” Her brow furrows, “But you weren’t a mermaid, I know you weren’t a mermaid. How did you-?”

“Thomas.” He says softly, and Thomas nods. 

“I told you I could help you.”

* * *

 

Negotiating the deal takes some time, as Maria doesn’t seem to trust he means what he says. 

“All I want from you is one thing precious.Nothing more and nothing less. It’ll be well taken care of.”

She chews her lip, and he steps closer, words careful and soft as he speaks.

“I could take your pain.”

She flinches, but keeps her gaze steady. “What do you mean.”

“I mean-” He doesn’t know what he’s saying either, “That I could take your pain. Your memories of it, any residual effect it’s having.” He pauses, unsure whether to mention this last bit. “I can see it around you. It’s dragging you down even if you don’t know it, and I could take it away.”

Maria looks down, as if unsure, before taking a breath in, looking up at him with determination in her gaze. “Okay. Okay.”

* * *

 

Eliza swims towards the rock, a smile on her lips. Maria had told her to come early the other day, a giggle bursting from her lips every couple of seconds. 

As she pulls herself onto the rock she looks around, confused. Maria wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

She’s about to swim up the beach, when a splash comes from the water. Looking down, she gasps.

Maria stares up at her, a grin on her face, and arms resting on the rock. “Hey ‘Liza.” She grins.

“Are we...swimming again?” Eliza asks, still unsure, and a bubble of  _ something _ growing in her chest. Excitement.

“Come into the water.” She tugs at her arm, a smile lighting up her face. “Come  _ on _ .”

Eliza laughs as she slides in beside her gingerly, sighing at the rush of cold that runs through her.. “Okay okay, I’m coming-” She falters, as something brushes her tail. A scaly something. 

“Wait.” She dives down under the water, the suspicion inside her growing by the second, and doesn’t open her eyes for a second. As soon as she does, she puts a hand to her mouth, at what she sees. A tail curves in the place of Maria’s legs, deep red fading into gold, the scales glimmering with every twitch of muscle. Fins curve around it delicately, and her tail is long and flowing, moving almost effortlessly down from her upper body.

Surfacing, she feels tears prick at her eyes, as happiness swells in her chest. When Maria had said surprise, this wasn’t at all what she’d been expecting. “Oh my god. Oh my  _ god _ .”

She jumps forward wrapping her arms around Maria’s shoulders and burying her head into her neck. It already feels right as their tails intertwine, and they clutch at each other, desperately. 

“I love you.” Eliza whispers into her hair.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!!
> 
> tumblr is [here](http://fighting-frenchbread.tumblr.com/) feel free to come scream at me ;^)


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